


Where the Devil Don't Go

by chagrins



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:34:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27323569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chagrins/pseuds/chagrins
Summary: Post Exegol, Rey seeks exile on the planet of Lothal. In her loneliness, she's shut herself off from everyone and everything, so consumed by the emptiness filling her mind.One night, in the middle of a blissful vision, a loth-wolf's howl catches her attention.He tells her he's going to bring her home.But what does home mean exactly? And why do the loth-wolf's eyes remind her of Ben Solo?
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9
Collections: Fall Fic Exchange 2020





	Where the Devil Don't Go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriarLily/gifts).



> This is my fic for The Writing Den's Fall Fic Exchange! And it was written for thewayofthetrashcompactor :)
> 
> My prompt was haunted reylo and (ah! real) monsters. Okay, not the ah! real part, but you get it XD
> 
> I promise you this post-TROS fic will have both!
> 
> (also, title inspired by the song "Where the Devil Don't Go" by Elle King)
> 
> Happy reading!

A loth-wolf howling at the night sky tore Rey from her brief reverie. The creature, perched on a mound of sand far in the distance, stared at her with slit eyes as a cool wind cloaked Rey’s bare arms. She leaned against the windowsill, a pull calling her to the loth-wolf.

The being howled once more, this time its cry piercing into every part of Rey’s soul. Though this was her first time seeing a creature of its kind, she understood the distress and agony all too well. She lived it, day and night, with an inferno raging inside her mind.

Only her daydreams saved her from the constant nightmares.

And she’d been daydreaming again—or, rather, _night_ dreaming—caught up in the romantic notion of what might’ve been. The joyful visions consumed her, as always, teasing her with Ben’s face and what their lives might’ve looked like if he had survived Exegol. She was lost in those images, lost in the memory of him, and grieving over a ghost.

 _I will always be with you_ , Ben had sent through the Force.

His final message.

And then there’d been nothing.

Another war had ended—only for an internal battle to wage on, spreading fury within her.

The loth-wolf padded closer, gliding across sand. Rey inhaled, swallowing a deep breath. In place of fear, warmth caressed her insides, and she sensed the beginning of something magical. As a Jedi, she’d witnessed many things both wonderous and ethereal in nature. Yet the presence of this loth-wolf piqued her curiosity. Something about its very existence invoked a sense of unchartered Force territory. There were so many things she still didn’t understand.

By her window, the magnificent creature drew to a stop and rested on its haunches. Steely eyes watched her, silver fur white beneath the light of the moon. There was something familiar about its eyes. Something heartbreakingly tragic.

“You’re a little far from home, aren’t you?” Rey mused with a bite to her tone, blowing out a breath. Then again, she hardly knew what home meant to a being of its kind.

The loth-wolf remained frozen in place.

“Well, I know I’m far from mine,” Rey said. “If I ever had a home.”

Stomping a paw against the sand, the animal dipped its snout. Though it spoke no words, she sensed in her bones it was wondering about her origins here on its turf.

“I’ve been in Lothal about a year now,” Rey said. “Right after the war ended. I’m still not sure how I feel about this place.”

She gazed out over the expansive area of grey sand which stretched as far as the eye could see. She’d picked an area on the planet far from civilization, and she planned on living out the rest of her days in isolation.

As it were, Master Luke had been right.

The loth-wolf snorted twice as if it mocked her thoughts.

Rey gazed back down at her new friend. Silver fur ruffled in the wind.

Watching the creature’s brown eyes, her mind played tricks on her. For the briefest of moments, an image—no, more like the picture from a holocron—formed over the front of the loth-wolf. She saw Ben Solo dressed in attire fit for a rebel, and he wore the same smile he had when they shared their kiss.

She reached out to touch this projection, her arm dangling in the cool night air. But then, she blinked twice, and her vision returned to normal.

There was no Ben Solo.

Holocron or otherwise.

Just the dream of something she would never again have.

“Well, there we go again.” She laughed through the tears, holding back the pain welling inside her heart. She shook her head in agreement, as if she’d been in deep conversation with this being. “Nobody seems to understand what it’s like… having a piece of your soul ripped away. There’s so much emptiness now. A hole I’ll never be able to fill.”

 _I will always be with you_ , she heard in her mind. But Rey knew it was nothing but a memory.

The loth-wolf grunted, stomping its front paw once more. Its eyes were studying her, watching her, attempting to penetrate all the walls she’d been building since her childhood on Jakku. She could sense it.

“Whatever it is you’re doing,” Rey said, “please help me understand. Why are you here?”

The loth-wolf raised its head and sat up taller than before.

“Home,” it spoke slowly, and with a gravelly voice. Rey flinched. Despite the things she had seen, she hadn’t been prepared to hear the loth-wolf speak to her.

Her brows narrowed, and she attempted to reason with the logic behind what it’d said. “Yes, home. Your home is Lothal,” she said. “I understand. But why are you here with me?”

“I will bring you _home_.” The loth-wolf laid flat on the ground, head erect and facing her. Without asking, Rey understood this meant it wished for her to climb on top. It wanted to take her someplace.

“I don’t understand. I’ve got nowhere else to go. This is where I live now.”

Huffing, the loth-wolf’s brows twitched. “No. This is not home. I bring you home.”

Something biting cut into Rey’s mind. Sharp pain coursed through her head, momentarily blinded her, and she squeezed her eyelids together, hands clasped over her ears. She tumbled out of the window, body landing in a soft bed of sand. A ringing sensation covered her body, enveloping her in a series of vibrations, and everything numbed.

The world was once again spinning out of her control, and Rey pulled for anything to cling on to, but nothing was within her reach.

Fur pressed against her face. When Rey opened her eyes, and everything began to move around her, she realized she was on top of the loth-wolf. He was rushing away from her dwelling, racing through the sand.

Until they were no longer gliding through anything material.

Suddenly, Rey felt nothing but the Cosmic Force itself.


End file.
